About meWe (me and my wife + our cat Eetu) are living in Espoo city (south coast, near Helsinki). I like reading, sometimes writing too, wander in forests, trying to find delicious mushrooms and blueberries (we have a lot of blueberries in our forests), cycling too of course. I appreciate progressive co-operation and to chat & discuss with different kind of people. My motto is ”If you fall, stand up!"

My job or my link with librariesI have been working a lot in the municipal Libraries. During the last 3 years I have been working in Library´s Makerspace. It´s wonderful to see how the customers and the members of staff learn together there, creating something new at the same time.

Why do I think libraries are important?Libraries help to make it possible. We offer the space to the customers, knowledge sharing, getting new ideas … Libraries really have a positive role in the world.

My challenge or focusMy library, Espoo City Library, promotes democracy, free sharing of Information, learning together, co-operation and independence by working together with the asylum seekers. The main goal is help them assimilate to the society.My goal during our cycling tour is to learn how the libraries around the world promote co-operation, independence, courage, democracy and free sharing of information. I will try and ask you during our tour about how these issues are present in your work. Thank you already in advance!

​My job or my link with librariesAdult librarian in charge of purchasing books in fields as computer, sciences, law, health, cooking and gardeningWhy do I think libraries are important?Libraries are important to offer to the public a place where a large amount of digital and printed resources is offered, also training that can help oneself to be updated in knowledge, and a meeting place for the seasonal cultural programme and just the freedom to be indoors without any of these purposes.

My challenge or focusDocuments in sciences are less borrowed than other fields, I question myself about if it has to do with attractiveness of the area, the subject itself, a need of mediation ​

About meI am 43 years old and an adult life-long librarian. I guess it's more a hobby than work, a serious one that is, like gardening. Or cycling...

​My jobAt this moment, I work as a part time librarian in the very small village of Waasmunster. In a library of this scale you literally have to do everything, not a bit but a lot. And that's very fine with me!

Why do I think libraries are important?Libraries are not just important, they are bare necessities for democratic, culturally advanced societies. And if needed, I will argument this endlessly from bicycle to bicycle during C4L!

Describe yourself in one sentenceI like international exchanges, discovering foreign libraries and bicycle !

My jobI’m a cataloging librarian in an academic library, called « Cujas » Library in Paris.

​Why do I think libraries are important?They provide access to culture, spaces to learn and study, and they promote cultural exchanges

My challenge or focus​I am interested in the place of catalogs in websites, how documents are described in catalogs (print and e-books, thesis and other documents) and in digital libraries of rare books

Descirbe yourself in one sentencePublic librarian with a big smile and a helpful mindset

​My jobI work in a public library where I spend most of my time guiding the adults.

Why do I think libraries are important?We must maintain the free access to books and information and our ability to make people learn all life long.

My focusI would like to hear from each of the participants, which project has been a succes. The reason is sharing of knowledge. It could be great if the project is something that inspire for a similar or a different project.

About meI’ve worked for the last 8 years as a reference librarian in the academic library of medicine & pharmacy of Grenoble (France).

My jobI am mainly in charge of dealing with health thesis. Many of them are now available online on the DUMAS open archive. Click on the link and have a look if you dare! :-)

Why do I think libraries are important?For many reasons, one of them being that libraries offer a free access to information and culture.

My challenge or focusIn these dark times when the budgets of French academic libraries are melting like snow in the spring, it seems fundamental for our profession to familiarize itself with the economy of knowledge. Subscription rates for scientific journals continue to rise dramatically, imposed by publishing multinationals making scandalous profits. Rather than cutting back on our book purchases in order to pay the bill, I believe that we should promote free access to scientific knowledge (also known as Open Access) in a much more determined way.

Needless to say, we have a lot to learn from our neighbors.To cite only this example, the voluntarism of the University of Liège is particularly impressive!

Cycling for Libraries is a golden opportunity to observe the practices of our foreign colleagues and benefit from their feedback. I’m looking forward to seeing how Belgian colleagues are addressing this issue!​